About this ebook
For fans of 13 Reasons Why and Girl in Pieces, this is a novel that shows the path to hope and life for a girl with mental illness.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Pulaski knows Zero is coming for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine’s bipolar disorder, almost triumphed once; that was her first suicide attempt.
Being bipolar is forever. It never goes away. The med du jour might work right now, but Zero will be back for her. It’s only a matter of time.
And so, in an old ballet-shoe box, Catherine stockpiles medications, preparing to take her own life before Zero can inflict its living death on her again. Before she goes, though, she starts a short bucket list.
The bucket list, the support of her family, new friends, and a new course of treatment all begin to lessen Catherine’s sense of isolation. The problem is, her plan is already in place, and has been for so long that she might not be able to see a future beyond it.
This is a story of loss and grief and hope, and how some of the many shapes of love—maternal, romantic, and platonic—affect a young woman’s struggle with mental illness and the stigma of treatment.
Seventeen-year-old Catherine Pulaski knows Zero is coming for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine’s bipolar disorder, almost triumphed once; that was her first suicide attempt.
Being bipolar is forever. It never goes away. The med du jour might work right now, but Zero will be back for her. It’s only a matter of time.
And so, in an old ballet-shoe box, Catherine stockpiles medications, preparing to take her own life before Zero can inflict its living death on her again. Before she goes, though, she starts a short bucket list.
The bucket list, the support of her family, new friends, and a new course of treatment all begin to lessen Catherine’s sense of isolation. The problem is, her plan is already in place, and has been for so long that she might not be able to see a future beyond it.
This is a story of loss and grief and hope, and how some of the many shapes of love—maternal, romantic, and platonic—affect a young woman’s struggle with mental illness and the stigma of treatment.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
6 reviews
Aditi Nichani
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November 16, 2016
***Before you start this review, I would like to state that I don’t know AS MUCH about Bipolar Disease and I would like to, and I am NOT CLAIMING TO BE AN EXPERT, but I am talking from the viewpoint of someone who wants to understand the disorder better, and a reader who was looking for that explanation, all while enjoying a story*** It’s been a couple of months since I read a good book on mental health, the last being Nick Lake’s Whisper to Me and so, reading The Weight Of Zero came as a welcome break from all the fantasy I’ve been reading. In A Nutshell, this book was a good interpretation on what it is like to DEAL emotionally with bipolar disease, but it wasn’t all it could’ve been. Catherine Pulaski suffers from Bipolar Disorder and the depressed and manic states of mind that come along with it. After she witnessed her grandmother suffer a heart attack and disintegrate into someone else before her eyes, she gets diagnosed and her “best friends” drop her like a hot potato and take up bullying her instead. Jaded with life and any sort of human kindness, Catherine is waiting for the next inevitable time that her depression, ‘Zero’ will come, and has a plan to end her life as it does. Filled with romance, friendship and how mental illness factors into the life of a teenager, The Weight of Zero is a great book to read! I did, however, have a few issues with it that I thought the book could have dealt better or should have spoken more of: 1. The book focused on the MC’s “relapse” into her manic or depressed state of mind and her suicide plan while sort of skimming past the explanation of bipolar disease itself. 2. There was more talk of the suicide that she planned to commit when she went under “Zero’s” (her name for her depressed state of mind) than anything else, and it got a little monotonous. 3. In Catherine’s Intensive Outpatient Programme, she kept talking about the connection she shared with everyone there, and how she slowly felt like it was a safe space, but never shared ANYTHING about her disease and it felt sort of redundant. 4. The ending was so rushed, very sunshine-y and rainbow-y in a real, harsh book and it made it all feel silly. There was also no real explanation to the bullying Catherine had endured, and it felt slightly rushed. I’m not AT ALL faulting the book for focusing on one area (how to deal emotionally) of this mental disorder, I’m just saying I wish there was MORE (everything else) about the disease. I also wish the ending wasn’t so rushed, and that the talks with her therapist and her mother were more detailed that a short third person summary. The Weight of Zero should definitely be on your essential reading list, but I still wish it had MORE.
2 people found this review helpful
About the author
Karen Fortunati is a former attorney who attends graduate school at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and works part-time as a museum educator. She lives in Connecticut with her family and rescue dogs.
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